


Reconnecting

by machtaholic (cinderella81)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Feels, Gen, Hale Family Feels, Headcanon, Original Character(s), POV Original Character, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-31
Updated: 2015-05-31
Packaged: 2018-04-02 05:59:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4048846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinderella81/pseuds/machtaholic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I had this headcanon about Derek Hale, about how his mom dragged him to a salon ... it started as a funny image and became ... a little heartbreaking.  This is me trying to put that headcanon into words.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reconnecting

It didn’t sit on the main strip, it sat a few streets away, a slightly rundown storefront that had been there for many years. It wasn’t popular by any standards, but it made enough to make the rent every month, and keep all the employees in home, food and wine. They’d been friends for years - they’d all worked at a salon in Sacramento and had moved to Beacon HIlls for a fresh start, wanting small town life. They’d lived in Beacon Hills for thirty years and had never regretted their choice.

Rachel, Dessarae and Valarie could remember the Hale family, could remember Talia bringing in first Laura, then Cora. They’d all chat and giggle as they worked, listening and relating town gossip. Talia also brought along a small little boy with dark hair and green eyes, her son Derek.

“Why do I gotta come here, Mom?” Derek frowned as he flopped in one of the purple chairs near the front door.

“Because I won’t take you to Mr. Foster, because he only knows three haircuts,” Talia said. “And these ladies know what they’re doing and wouldn’t do wrong by us.”

Years passed by, and the women watched as Laura grew up, went to high school dances, became more mature. They watched as Cora grew as well, gaining personality, becoming her own person. And Derek, Talia had continued to bring him with her, forcing him to sit in their dark pink salon chairs, get wrapped in their purple striped capes and get his hair cut.

“How old are you now?” Dessarae asked as she sprayed Derek’s hair with water.

“Fourteen,” Derek replied meekly, cheeks pink.

“Seeing anyone?” Dessarae teased.

“No, ma’am,” Derek said quickly, trying not to move his head .

“He’s got plenty of girls chasing him at school,” Talia interjected with a grin. 

The women had left Derek alone after that, not wanting to embarrass the boy further.

Things got … less quiet shortly after that. The ladies were devastated to hear of the fire that took most of the Hale family. They attended the funerals, and watched Laura and Derek stand there quietly, both looking so small. They both left town after that, and the ladies heard rumors that they’d gone to New York, as far away from Beacon Hills as they could get. The ladies didn’t blame them.

They lost Valarie shortly after to breast cancer, and they’d both mourned for the loss of their best friend. Surprisingly, Valarie’s son Mel had been all too happy to take his mother’s spot in the salon. He hadn’t even cared about the plush purple chairs, or the dark pink salon chairs, or the purple striped capes - he just enjoyed the craft.

None of them had known that Laura had returned to Beacon Hills … until rumors of her passing filtered to through the town and reached Rachel, Dessarae and Mel.

“You didn’t know her, but she was such a sweet girl,” Dessarae told Mel as they opened the shop for business.

“The whole family,” Rachel added. “I mean, her uncle Peter is still in the hospital in a vegetative state.”

“That sucks,” Mel said as he unlocked the front door, jumping a bit when he opened the door and found a customer standing there. A large man with dark hair and green eyes. “Oh, hey, sorry you scared the crap out of me.”

“Sorry,” the man replied. 

“Derek?” Rachel practically shoved Mel out of the way and stared at the man. “I’d know that hair anywhere.” She pulled Derek in and gave him a hug, shocked when the top of her head fit under her chin - she remembered him as being shorter.

“Hi, I mean yeah,” Derek replied. “I’ve been in town for about a week and … “

“Come on, come sit,” Rachel said, pulling Derek inside. “I haven’t seen you in -”

“Six years,” Derek finished as he sat down in one of the dark pink salon chairs.

Rachel stood behind him, watching as he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. It was almost as if he were trying to go back in time, trying to remember. She rested a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently. “It’s good to see you,” she said softly.

“I thought I could,” Derek whispered, “get cleaned up a bit?”

Rachel swallowed back the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks and nodded, wrapping a cape around his shoulders. “Mel, go grab us a couple of waters,” she said as she sprayed Derek’s hair.

“Where’s Valarie?” Derek asked quietly.

“She passed on, about three years ago,” Rachel replied as she worked.

“I’m so sorry,” Derek said. “Mom loved her scalp massages.”

“We all loved your mother very much,” Rachel murmured.

Mel set the bottles of water on the counter and tried not stare as the hulking man sitting in the dark pink chair covered in the purple striped cape. Dessarae dragged him to the back room with the excuse of needing to organize supplies.

“Who is that guy?” Mel asked. “We don’t get guys in here at all, at least I’ve never seen them.”

“Derek Hale,” Dessarae replied.

“As in?”

Dessarae nodded. “His mother Talia used to bring him in, from the time he was a toddler until … the fire,” she said. “He was a sweet boy, kind of grumpy at the beginning, but what boy wouldn’t be, being forced to come someplace like this?”

“Well, I grew up here, so I wouldn’t know,” Mel replied with a grin. 

“He’s definitely grown up,” Dessarae said, winking at Mel.

“Dessarae!” Mel said, covering his mouth to muffle his laughter. “He’s younger than me.”

“He’s an adult and he grew up very well,” Dessarae replied with a shrug. “I honestly couldn’t though, watching him grow up.” She poked her head out of the back room and sighed softly as she watched Rachel and Derek chatting softly, Rachel patting Derek on the hand comfortingly. Dessarae watched Rachel uncape Derek, then wave off any attempt he made to pay, walking him to the front door and hugging him one more time.

“So, Derek Hale, huh?” Mel said as he stepped out from the back room.

“He didn’t actually need to get cleaned up,” Rachel whispered. “Didn’t have to do much. He just wanted to … remember.”

After that first visit, Derek visited every six weeks like clockwork. He got to know Mel, brought everyone donuts on Saturday mornings. They found Derek liked to show up early, before things really got going. It was easier, to not have to answer questions, and avoid the stares he sometimes got in town.

They all figured the salon was the one place Derek could be himself … and connect with his family.

**Author's Note:**

> Apologies to any anon who wishes to leave nice comments, but the hate anon has struck again, even though there is absolutely no shipping in this fic. Therefore, anon has been disabled. Kudos are love, though.


End file.
